I do not even want to tell you how long I had a business before I made a freebie (aka magnet). I love other people’s freebies and sign up for them all of the time, but making a freebie for my own business seemed completely tortuous. I think a lot of that is because I didn’t know exactly what freebie would be best. So, I’m trying to help you out by giving you freebie ideas for authors looking to build an email list.
Authors have the added challenge of having a very wide ranging audience that doesn’t have one simple need or pain point that you can cater to. Instead, you have to find something that relates to your book but will interest a diverse group of people.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Reader Magnet?
- 7 Creative Options for A Successful Reader Magnet
- How to Choose the Right Reader Magnet
- How to Set Up an Author Email List
- How to Promote Your Reader Magnet
- Common Reader Magnet Mistakes Authors Should Avoid
- Your Author Website Should Turn Visitors Into Readers
- Frequently Asked Questions About Reader Magnets
What Is A Reader Magnet?
A reader magnet is a free piece of content that an author offers in exchange for a reader’s email address. Its purpose is to encourage readers to join your email list or newsletter while giving them something genuinely valuable in return.
Reader magnets are sometimes called lead magnets or author freebies, but the concept is especially useful for authors because the free content can be designed specifically to attract people who are interested in your books.
For example, a romance author might offer a free 15,000-word novella featuring characters from an upcoming series. A reader who loves the novella has now experienced the author’s writing and has a reason to stay connected. Maybe they’ll pre-order or read your back catalog.
The goal isn’t simply to give something away. A successful reader magnet should attract the right readers—people who are genuinely interested in your genre, books, and future releases.
Why Authors Need A Reader Magnet
Authors use reader magnets to grow their email lists by giving potential readers a compelling reason to subscribe. Instead of asking someone to join a newsletter simply for “updates,” a reader magnet gives them an immediate benefit for becoming a subscriber.
Building an email list is important because authors can use it to maintain a direct relationship with readers over time. Social media can help authors discover and connect with new audiences, but an email list gives authors a direct channel for communicating with people who have specifically asked to hear from them.
An email list can build both a community and a more direct relationship.
What Makes a Good Reader Magnet?
A good author reader magnet gives readers something they genuinely want while attracting people who are likely to enjoy your books. The most effective reader magnets are valuable, closely connected to an author’s books or genre, easy to access, and simple to understand.
Remember, the goal isn’t just to get more email subscribers. It’s to attract the right readers and begin a relationship with them.
7 Creative Options for A Successful Reader Magnet
Short Story or Missing Chapters
In many ways this is the go-to it feels like for published authors with a decent backlist, and that’s because it works. If you’ve got readers who’ve committed to a series, they want more of it. This is a great way to trade in on that momentum, plus everyone wins. If this is an option for you it should definitely be one of your reader magnets!
If you don’t have a backlist or only have a small one, including a short story is still an option. The catch is that you have to seriously sell it. It has to sound so compelling that people are itching to read it. Again, not impossible, but you better bring the interest!
Quotes or Affirmations
This is an option that can work for writers with a backlist or not, and it’s completely customizable to your genre. Writing Christian Romance- give us the Bible verses that inspire you. Writing mystery- share your favorite riddles. Writing self help- list out the quotes that motivate you and the context for them.
This is so adaptable that giving it your unique perspective will make it completely different than anyone else’s list. And, when you’re sharing it, help us know why it’s needed by us. Give the sales paragraph for it a little drama, please! For the Bible verses maybe they “Gave Me Faith After Dating Frogs.” For the riddles maybe they are “Difficult Enough To Stump The Inhabitants at 22 Baker Street.” For the quotes maybe they are “Words from Failures Who Finally Figured Out Success.” Sell it to me!
Book Club Guide
I genuinely think every author should create a book club guide for each book they publish. Give people the content and context to enjoy your work to its fullest!
Share your thoughts on the book, how you came up with the idea, and the process with people reading it. Bonus points if you make it a video they get access to.
Include decor, food, and game ideas to really round out the Book Club Guide so that no matter the vibe of the book club, they get something accessible. Plus, you could include a request for people to tag you in their social media posts of their book club. Lookie there, more content for you…
Recipes (Expansive Informative Content)
2-5 recipes that feel reflective of the time period or location of your book are a great thing to share with your readers. Explain how they’re related to the story, how authentic they are, and include a ton of photos from when you’ve prepared those recipes. And if you don’t have a backlist yet, maybe it’s recipes that are your favorite snacks while reading. Get creative in how it connects to you.
You don’t have to get hung up on recipes, though. Any expansive informative content that relates to your books is great. Maybe you have a character who is getting in shape to defeat the Big Bad – then give us their workout. Or you’ve got an amateur sleuth – tell me what they keep in their purse to help them on a case. Anything that gets me deeper into the world, and is clearly interesting to me as someone who’s read your book(s).
Quiz
What’s not to love about a quiz! This is a great reader magnet whether you have a backlist or not because your quiz shouldn’t really be book specific. Instead, let us all share in the love we have for the same genre.
For instance if you’re a romance author, test our romance trope knowledge. If you’re a non-fiction self help author, quiz us on our ability to set boundaries. If you’re an adventure novelist, see if we have the survival skills to stay alive and find the treasure.
If you’re including a quiz as your reader magnet, it should be a celebration of fun and a test of wits. Give us a challenge in exchange for our email address.
Playlist
This is gaining more and more traction as a reader magnet, and it has potential to work for you if you have a backlist or not. If you’ve got a backlist, make a playlist for your book or series and share how each song relates to the book. Let us get a peek into your process and how music helps you write. Give us the chance to emote with you.
If you don’t have a backlist, create a playlist that revolves more around the act of reading. For instance, a playlist that is perfect for a rainy day of reading or a playlist for strong female characters in their training montage. Make it feel more specific by relating it to your writing style and brand.
Genre Booklist
This is another one that works well for writers with or without a backlist. (But if you have a backlist, you’d better also have a reader magnet that is book specific!)
Gather your favorites in the genre you write in. Make this a personalized book recommendation for readers who love your genre. You can make a massively comprehensive list divided into different categories. Or you can make a smaller list that feels exclusive, like The Best Romance Novels You’ve Never Heard Of or True Crime To Scary To Finish. Let us get a peek into how deeply you’ve gotten into that genre and what your thoughts are on those books. It doesn’t have to be long, just enough commentary to recommend each book.
How To Choose The Right Reader Magnet
Choosing the right reader magnet really depends on your books and your audience. You want to find something that appeals to your audience and can connect them to your books. Here are some of my favorites based on genres:
Romance Authors: Bonus scenes (especially between the main couple), novella, or romantic lead quiz.
Mystery Authors: Short stories or mysteries for readers to solve, orbook club guide.
Fantasy Authors: More world building items like recipes or maps, bonus story about distant characters, or a quiz about what kind of species you’d be in that world.
Thriller Authors: Novellas, Book Club Guides, or a list of your favorite books in the genre.
Historical Fiction Authors: Historical resources or booklist, expansive informative content like recipes or decor ideas from the time.
Nonfiction Authors: Checklists, quotes, or workbooks.
Children’s Book Authors: Activity sheets, funny short story or jokes, or coloring pages.
How To Set Up An Author Email List
Pour your drink of choice, and plan for about half an hour to set up your author email list. This isn’t a difficult thing to do, but it is one of those tasks where you’ve just got to sit down and go through the steps. But, the best news is, that the return on your investment with an email list is usually better than any effort or time you’ve poured into social media.
Choose An Email Marketing Platform
At this point, I think there’s almost too many email marketing platforms to count. I recommend (and use) Flodesk. It’s easy to get it set up. Making forms is a breeze. You can have various audiences, automate newsletter sequences, and even sell directly from your emails. Plus, the emails actually look pretty.
How To Connect Your Email Capture to Your Website
Don’t let the tech slow you down! I’ve made a tutorial that specifically walks you through how to connect your Flodesk form to your Showit website. You can find that here.
Not on Showit or Flodesk? Why are you making life harder for yourself? Find out why Showit is the best website platform for authors.
How To Promote Your Reader Magnet
One of the reasons I really encourage authors to set up and nourish their website is because you’re going to be promoting a lot of things over a long time. While you’ll often be linking to places for readers to purchase your books, you will always want to link everything to your website as well. That means that when a book sale link or a newsletter link changes, you know that all of that marketing work will always have evergreen value because it’ll send people to your website.
After you’ve set up a newsletter signup marketing your reader magnet as a page on your website, you’ll want to link everyone back to that webpage. Include these links everywhere you share your reader magnet: social media (on posts and in your bio), Pinterest pins, and as links shared by podcasts you guest on. If you have a literary agent or publisher who allows you to add links to your bio section, that is also a great place to plug your website and reader magnet.
Common Reader Magnet Mistakes Authors Should Avoid
The first and biggest mistake you can make as an author is not having a reader magnet. An email list is the best way of ensuring regular, strategically guided interactions with your readers. So it’s important to have a reader magnet and the right reader magnet. Hopefully the ideas in this blog post have helped you create a successful reader magnet on your first try, but don’t be disheartened if you need to try an additional reader magnet or two to get the right audience.
To ensure you’ve got the right reader magnet, make sure it directly relates to your books. You don’t just want to attract freebie-chasers. So if you notice that your email list is growing but your emails aren’t getting opened and your book sales aren’t going up, then it means your reader magnet isn’t getting you in contact with the right readers. Try making a new reader magnet.
The next big mistake I see authors make is not having any plans in place for subsequent newsletters. After visitors sign up for your email list and receive their freebie, you need to begin building that relationship. I recommend creating an automated Welcome Sequence. That is a series of newsletters that introduce you and your work to your new subscribers. And you can set them to auto send after someone signs up for your email list.
Your Author Website Should turn Visitors Into Readers
Your author website should be the infrastructure of your business. It’s the place that you own that gathers data that helps you build marketing momentum that increases revenue. Connecting your email list to your website is a massively important part of building your online presence as an author.
Reader magnets are massively important when it comes to growing your email list. It’s definitely some extra work, but if you can dig in and make a truly unique-to-you reader magnet, your email list will explode. The focus should be on quality and its originality to you.
(If you’re looking for a newsletter/email capture platform, I use Flodesk and love it. You can use my affiliate link and get 50% off your first year.)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a reader magnet for authors?
A reader magnet is a free piece of content that an author offers to readers in exchange for their email address. The goal is to give potential readers a compelling reason to join the author’s email list or newsletter.
For fiction authors, reader magnets can include a free novella, short story, prequel, bonus chapter, deleted scene, exclusive epilogue, or the first book in a series. Nonfiction authors might offer a checklist, workbook, guide, template, or mini-course.
A good reader magnet is closely related to the author’s books and appeals to their ideal reader. This helps authors build an email list filled with people who are genuinely interested in their work—not simply people who wanted a random freebie.
What makes a good reader magnet?
A good reader magnet is valuable, relevant, easy to access, and specifically designed for the author’s ideal reader. It should give someone a compelling reason to exchange their email address for the free content.
When creating a reader magnet, authors should consider:
- Relevance: Does it appeal to the same readers who would enjoy your books?
- Value: Does the freebie feel worthwhile?
- Specificity: Does it solve a particular problem or satisfy a particular interest?
- Ease: Can readers access and consume it quickly?
- Connection to your books: Does it naturally introduce readers to your stories or expertise?
The best reader magnet isn’t necessarily the longest or most elaborate. A short bonus story that readers genuinely want can be more effective than a 50-page freebie that takes months to create.
What is the best reader magnet for fiction authors?
For many fiction authors, a free story is one of the most effective reader magnets because it lets potential readers experience the author’s writing firsthand. Popular options include a free novella, prequel, short story, bonus chapter, exclusive epilogue, or the first book in a series.
The best choice depends on the author’s genre, publishing catalog, and goals. For example: a quiz related to the book, an additional chapter or novella, a book club guide, or a genre booklist.
The most important consideration is that the reader magnet should attract the same audience who will want to read your other books. A reader magnet that converts well but attracts people who aren’t interested in your books won’t help build a valuable author email list.
How do I create an author email list?
To create an author email list, choose an email marketing platform, create a valuable reader magnet, add an email signup form, and promote the signup wherever readers encounter your author brand.
A simple author email-list setup looks like this:
- Choose an email marketing platform that allows you to collect subscribers and send emails. I highly recommend Flodesk.
- Create a reader magnet that appeals to your ideal reader.
- Create a signup form or landing page where readers can enter their email address. And you can learn how to connect your Flodesk form to your Showit website with this tutorial.
- Set up automatic delivery so new subscribers receive their reader magnet.
- Add signup opportunities to your author website, books, and social-media profiles.
How do I deliver a reader magnet?
The easiest way to deliver a reader magnet is to connect your signup form to your email marketing platform and automatically send the freebie after someone subscribes.
For example, an author might create a landing page offering a free novella. When a reader enters their email address, the email platform can automatically send a welcome email containing a link to download the novella.
Where should I put my newsletter signup?
Authors should put their newsletter signup anywhere a reader is likely to be interested in hearing from them, rather than hiding it on a single page. The most important locations include the homepage, book pages, blog posts, footer, dedicated reader-magnet landing page, social-media profiles, and ebook back matter.
Do I need a website to build an email list?
Technically, no, you don’t need a website to build an email list. Authors can use an email marketing platform’s signup forms or landing pages to collect subscribers and deliver a reader magnet.
However, having an author website can make growing and managing an email list much easier because it gives you a central online home for your books, reader magnet, newsletter signup, and author brand.
Think of your website as the hub of your author platform and your email list as one of the most valuable ways to stay connected with the readers who discover you. You can start building your list without a website, but a strategically designed author website can give you more opportunities to turn visitors into subscribers—and subscribers into long-term readers.
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